Lost both pinchers!

crabbycasey · Post by **crabbycasey** » Mon Oct 12, 2020 5:54 pm

Hi HCA! I am new here and also new to the hermit crab world. Bought my son a Caribbean/Purple Pincher hermit crab at the beach on Sept 24th...because my sister told me she had one when she was little and it was super easy to care for. He came home in a tiny plastic carrier and after A LOT of reading, I realize they are not so easy! Totally fine bc I love our little Hermie! Got him a long 10 gallon with about 6” of play sand and coconut substrate, using 5:1 ratio. Temp stays right around 75-77 and humidity btw 80-90. I use moss to help maintain it. He has a few places to hide and 3 shells, different sizes. HAD (will get to this part in a min) both freshwater with sponge for drinking and saltwater pool with shells to climb out on for soaking. While Hermie hid a lot at first, he’s starting to come around and be more active. He has changed shells at least twice. Soooo...when reading how social they were and that we never should have gotten just one, I went back to beach and got 2 more smaller PP, Rocky & Peg Leg. Added more huts and shells and introductions seems ok with Hermie & Rocky...Hermie just rolled Rocky around for a bit and then they slept next to each other. When I got these 2 the lady at the surf shop told me NO saltwater...it will kill them. She said don’t even put shells from beach in there bc of it. Didn’t make sense with everything I had read, but she said it’s bc they were farm-raised. ??? Any input from my new HCA people on that? I did it bc of course I don’t want them to die. Rocky seems to be doing ok, but does like Hermie did at first and stays tucked away for the most part. But my other little fella, Peg Leg...he lost his little pincher first night home with me (still in carrier) and then his big one just a few days later (after I put him in big crabitat at home). I’m so sad for him and want to do everything I can to help him survive. I’ve isolated him to a tank on his own since he’s obviously stressed and probs feeling vulnerable to Hermie and Rocky. He just wants to stay in the corner or in his iso hut. Did see him drinking some water yesterday though. After more reading, I’ve put a couple Q-tips with different things for food...peanut butter, honey, coconut w/calcium powder. Did that just this morning and sat him directly on top of it, but doesn’t look like he ate any of it and now he’s back in his hut. Please help me keep our new lil Peg Leg alive...will appreciate any tips, thank you!!

DUDE · Post by **DUDE** » Tue Oct 13, 2020 6:27 am

Not sure if u have already, but you can check http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 0&t=119273 which is the basic care guide on this forum. As for saltwater, do not use table salt or aquarium salt, you have to use marine salt meant for marine fish and this is compulsory in hermit crab care. I'm very sorry for your little guy who lost his pinchers, if you're up for it I believe that it is possible to hand feed your hermit crab by dehydrating their food and grinding it into a powder and moisten slightly and dip a toothpick into it before putting it at your hermit crab's mouth. If your crab will not take food this way, you could try putting the moistened powder food into a bottle cap and position your crab over it so they can just eat it. Do ensure to change the food daily. I assume that you r going to keep the crab isolated and this is an iffy topic but I'm pretty sure you're supposed to keep the substrate shallow in the iso tank and allow the crab to surface molt (provide a hiding place for him to do this) this is what I would do in your situation, hope your hermit crab recovers:)

crabbycasey · Post by **crabbycasey** » Tue Oct 13, 2020 8:52 am

Thank you so much for your reply and well wishes for Peg Leg! When I had the salt water in the tank I was using a saltwater solution by Thrive, specifically made for hermit crabs. Have you ever heard of salt water being able to kill a hermit crab? My gut is telling me I should put the salt water pool back in my tank…

I will do anything I can to help feed Peg Leg, but the problem is that he is so scared of me still, I’m not sure I can get him out of his shell to feed him with a toothpick. I currently have some things on Q-tips in there and have sat him directly down on it, but I can’t tell he ate anything. I will continue to try though and post updates!

Edit: Also, I read what you sent in the link and it was very informative! I’ve seen most of it in my readings up until this point and I think I’m on track with everything, minus the saltwater issue/concern that I’m trying to figure out. Could maybe stand to get it a little warmer in my tank too, stays 75-77.

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DUDE · Post by **DUDE** » Wed Oct 14, 2020 9:35 am

I just read the other replies that u got on your other thread and I'm really glad Peg Leg has started eating!!! I think you have already been informed but it is highly not recommended to use saltwater for hermit crabs as it does not have the minerals they need. Small portion of people use it with no issues but I would just recommend getting marine salt like Instant Ocean:)

crabbycasey · Post by **crabbycasey** » Wed Oct 14, 2020 9:46 am

DUDE wrote:I just read the other replies that u got on your other thread and I'm really glad Peg Leg has started eating!!! I think you have already been informed but it is highly not recommended to use saltwater for hermit crabs as it does not have the minerals they need. Small portion of people use it with no issues but I would just recommend getting marine salt like Instant Ocean:)

This is what I got (see pic). I wasn’t confident in mixing it myself at first and thought this was just a pre-mixed solution. Is it not? I want what’s best for my little guys and am confident now that I can make my own, but was going to wait til this ran out...unless it’s bad for them and I can go get some Instant Ocean today!

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DUDE · Post by **DUDE** » Wed Oct 14, 2020 10:03 am

IMO, just to be safe I would purchase the Instant Ocean. It is said that anything sold specifically for hermit crabs are probably not going to b good for them.

crabbycasey · Post by **crabbycasey** » Wed Oct 14, 2020 10:15 am

DUDE wrote:IMO, just to be safe I would purchase the Instant Ocean. It is said that anything sold specifically for hermit crabs are probably not going to b good for them.

That’s terrible… Why would companies make products specifically for certain animals that won’t be good for them?! It’s good to know, a newby like me was in the store looking only at stuff specifically geared towards hermies thinking it’d be the safest bet. Thank you so much for the heads up, I will get some instant ocean very soon and replace their saltwater pools! Also, thank you for your caring words about Peg Leg being able to eat some yesterday. Poor thing, he’s down to 1 leg and I’m hoping he eats more today and molts soon!

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HermitofHermitCrabs · Post by **HermitofHermitCrabs** » Fri Oct 16, 2020 10:05 am

Yep, I’ve used Instant Ocean for years and highly recommend it.

HCA: Hermit Crab Association